Kirtan Kriya, a simple meditation practice, and listening to music may help significantly improve memory and cognitive performance - conditions that could represent early stage of Alzheimer's disease, a new study has claimed.
Researchers at West Virginia University in the US studied 60 older adults with subjective cognitive decline (SCD).
The participants were assigned to either a beginner meditation (Kirtan Kriya) or music listening programme and asked to practice 12 minutes per day for 12 weeks.
Both the meditation and music groups showed marked and significant improvements in subjective memory function and objective cognitive performance at three months.
These included domains of cognitive functioning most likely to be affected in preclinical and early stages of dementia (like attention, executive function, processing speed, and subjective memory function).
The substantial gains observed in memory and cognition were maintained or further increased at six months (three months post-intervention).
Researchers have found earlier that both intervention groups also showed improvements in sleep, mood, stress, well-being and quality of life, with gains that were that were particularly pronounced in the meditation group; again, all benefits were sustained or further enhanced at three months post-intervention.
The findings of this trial suggest that two simple mind-body practices, Kirtan Kriya meditation and music listening, may not only improve mood, sleep, and quality of life, but also boost cognition and help reverse perceived memory loss in older adults with SCD.
The study was published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
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